Almost every parent knows the mental fortitude that is necessary to raise a newborn child. The ability to function with an inconsistent sleep schedule is a skill matched only by Marines. But, Rebeka and Geordan Joseph were part of a small group of parents that found themselves going to war every night.

Their identical twin daughters were both diagnosed with type 1 diabetes by the age of 1. Every night, armed with a lancet and headlamp, Rebeka and Geordan would strategically prick their daughters’ fingers to check their blood sugar levels.

“Try doing that to a baby without waking them up,” Rebeka said.

However, since April, a new device called the Dexcom G6 has made these late night missions a thing of the past for the Joseph family. Their 2-year-old daughters, Leah and Eva, were among the first individuals to use the state-of-the-art continuous glucose monitoring device. Their parents say it has changed their lives for the better.

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Twin 2-year-old sisters Leah, left, and Eva Joseph who each wear a Dexcom G6 patch which monitors their blood sugar level to help their parents control her type 1 diabetes, at the family home on Saturday, May 19, 2018.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

Back in July 2016, Leah was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She was only 10 months. Nine months later, Eva was diagnosed. The sudden shift in how to raise their children was initially overwhelming for the Josephs.

Having type 1 diabetes at such a young age makes treating the disease a full time job for parents.

“We had to take almost two months off (of work) and learn everything,” Geordan says.

Learning everything included measuring blood sugar levels every two hours and understanding what kind of food would level them off.

The Josephs began using a device called the Dexcom G5 around October of 2016 with Leah, and eventually Eva when she was diagnosed. The Dexcom G5 was a patch that measured their blood sugar levels through an app. The device had made their lives a little easier, but they still had to prick their daughters’ fingers to calibrate the device and receive more accurate numbers.

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Rebeka Joseph with her daughter Leah, 2, who uses a patch that monitors her blood sugar level to help control her type 1 diabetes, at the family home on Saturday, May 19, 2018.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

Through a stroke of luck, Geordan ran into the Vice President of Global marketing for Dexcom Mike Bloom, at a “Friends for Life” conference in Orlando in July 2017, an annual event that brings world-renowned physicians, researchers, and families to discuss diabetic care.

Bloom became so enamored with the Joseph twins and their story that he offered to make the family part of the company's Warrior program, which focused on creating promotional material centered around the real life stories of Dexcom users. This led to Leah and Eva being included in a limited release of their brand new G6 model in April of this year. They were the first people to ever use the new device.

"Children's glucose values can be subject to much more variability than adults, and much more rapid changes," Kevin Sayer, president of Dexcom, says.

That vulnerability made the Joseph twins perfect candidates to test the device's accuracy improvements.

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Leah Joseph, 2, with her Dexcom G6 patch which monitors her blood sugar level to help her parents control her type 1 diabetes, at the family home on Saturday, May 19, 2018.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

The new model improved on the accuracy of blood sugar measurements by having the patch insert a sensor with a needle that is the width of a strand of hair. Within two hours, the device is calibrated, no finger pricking. The patch lasts around 10 days before being replaced.

One other innovation the G6 made is something that has had the most dramatic effect on the Joseph family. The device comes with a series of applications that not only contains up-to-date blood sugar levels, but a chart history of their levels throughout a day, a week, or even a month, giving the family a better understanding of how to treat their condition.

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Rebeka Joseph holds up her phone that has an app that she uses to help monitor her twin daughters blood sugar level, to help control their type 1 diabetes, at the family home on Saturday, May 19, 2018.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

“We check (the app) several times an hour,” Rebeka says, “It’s our lifeline to the girls really.”

The Josephs set up an alarm with the app that goes off whenever the twins’ blood sugar levels dip below 80 or rise above 250.

“I can sleep better knowing an alarm will wake me up if there is an issue,” Rebeka says.

Both Rebeka and Geordan are now transitioning back into a normal work routine and becoming confident enough to send their daughters to daycare. The app allows the Josephs to share the twins' medical information with their teacher, keeping a close eye on the girls if their levels are getting too high or low.

"Honestly, if we didn't have Dexcom, it would make it a lot a more difficult to relax and be able to send them to school," Rebeka says.

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Twin 2-year-old sisters Leah, left, and Eva Joseph who each wear a Dexcom G6 patch which monitors their blood sugar level to help their parents control her type 1 diabetes, at the family home on Saturday, May 19, 2018.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

The ability to share and observe such accurate and up-to-date information from the comfort of your phone is why a local endocrinologist like Dr. Gabriel Guerrero sees devices like Dexcom’s G6 becoming the future for diabetic health care.

“In my professional opinion, I do believe this will become the new standard of care,” Guerrero says.

According to Guerrero, instead of relying on log books and memory, doctors will be able to diagnose and treat patients with diabetes with the most current information possible.

It’s that prediction that also brings comfort to the Joseph family as their daughters grow with this condition.

“I’m looking forward to what lies ahead thanks to this technology,” Rebeka says.

The Dexcom G6 was set to be released to the public on Wednesday, June 6.